This is what will make up the store layoffs everyone is asking or talking about.
Also, you will start seeing something like a hiring freeze, not a widespread freeze for every store (yet) but at the discretion of the DM after collaborating/reevaluating organizational needs with SGMs, so some open positions at some stores will be left unfilled and removed from job portals.
@2fld I completely agree with you regarding Leads and Coordinators. I have been there too and also stepped down. Unfortunately I don't want to see people lose their jobs strictly over job title or role.
I've been a lead at Sears in 4 different departments and finally got tired of it. A Lead or coordinator at Sears is nothing more than an MCA or Store Support associate with an approval card and a gofer for the ASM and SM. I finally stepped down and told them to do their jobs. A Lead or coordinator is not needed in a Sears store if the ASM and SM are doing their jobs.
Which goes back to what I am saying thats why the store is almost a quarter down vs last year. Also no one listens to our SM now adays we hear what BS he says roll our eyes and get back to work.
If we had a true SM than I would agree, but in ours we dont have a true SM. Thats why they should eliminate his position or get someone that can actually lead a store.
They aren’t looking at a case by case basis and they aren’t trying to find specific people. They’re eliminating positions and you can never eliminate the store manager position because someone has to lead the store.
I feel like you didn’t really understand that post or the point it was making. They don’t care whos useful or useless in your particular store. They don’t care that you feel like your store manager is useless and they don’t care that your asm or any other person who was laid off didn’t deserve to be laid off. In general store managers are necessary to run a store. Even if you eliminate the specific person someone must fill that role and be the head of the store.
"why not cut who is most useless. Cutting the current SM and putting one of those ASM's in charge would of been a great idea."
The people deciding who to cut probably have no idea which individual employees are 'most useless'. Any possibility of upper management figuring that out gets filtered out by all such information getting passed through the SM on its way upstream, who will of course ensure he still looks as useful as possible.
@TYinkEi-1tch This would work if they eliminated the most useless people. As I mentioned when we lost our 2 ASM's in our store I knew things were going to get super bad. The thing is those 2 really worked hard compared to our useless SM.
I agree though when you say you have to cut people to try to continue to run the company. Here is the thing why not cut who is most useless. Cutting the current SM and putting one of those ASM's in charge would of been a great idea. AP is also another cut that should be done ours does nothing and easily taking another part of payroll. Along with overpaid DM's those guys make bank and yet do little compared to the little people that still try to continue to running the company.
As I said our store was once upon a time a top tier store we had a strong crew at its peak I remember we were breaking records to plan and vs last year. Now as I said we are lucky if we arent negative at least 20 percent each day. Right now to current month we are negative 25 percent (that is an estimate of $150,000k down vs last year). So as you said cuts are necessarily, but when you cut the wrong people it hurts the company more in the long run.
Along the remaining workers have lost so much interest.
Never heard of a part time supervisor/manager position, but I believe it -- SHC is on a quest to eliminate any and all full timers to the fullest extent possible.
I heard about some crazy idea about splitting one store manager between two stores. What's going on with that?
@1dxf "most stores have 2 million and up in inventory in FJ."
That sounds like a lot, but how does it compare to other departments? I know jewelry is smaller items in a smaller space to add up to that much, but there is a whole lot of stuff in other departments too...
These exact cuts were made in Kmars years ago. We have had the Simple Store process for over a year and a half. We dont have leads anymore just supervisors, Think part time people running a department. No FJ supervisor, Softlines lead does that. No footwear lead, that is done by a floor supervisor. No backroom leads, this is done by receiving.
The simple store process is to not have any merchandise in the back and to get all trucks unloaded and stocked within 24 hours of delivery. No need for a lead, just a bunch of part time stockers and then the floor supervisor makes sure it looks good.
Appliances, mattresses, tools etc are all under the hardlines supervisor. One SM, One hourly ASM and floor supervisors that is what the simple store is going for
Unfortunately if decisions like this start to happen it means the situation is no longer being looked at on a case by case basis.
We don’t know if this information is accurate yet but when a company lays off an entire position type it just means the company believes to have a net gain overall. Of course you’d expect to see some stores making gains while others having more losses.
It could also mean your store doesn’t fit the mold the company wants to move towards. For example if sears wants to scale down the company size as well as the store size then that means the larger stores will be negatively impacted by the decisions made to get to that point. The smaller stores will be impacted less and could survive.
*this isn’t fact but it’s an example of the thought process***
@TYinkEi-1ang I just think if this goes through its just going to get worse than it is. Ever since January they cut 2 ASM's and a month later the whole SST started. I seen our numbers go negative big time. We have been down vs last year each month from 20 percent to 30 percent. Our store manager didn't change one bit at all. He never does nothing to be productive.
The only reason we were profitable was because we had a strong crew little, by little we been starting to lose that strong crew and left with a lot of people not wanting to work or try. I am just saying that if they would eliminate our SM our store would be perfectly fine he does nothing to be productive at our store yet being the SM complains how bad were doing, but wont take initiative to do anything to improvise.
If this rumors are truth its going to be chaotic losing the remaining leads/coordinators (along with the ASM remaining). AP can get lost though ours is pretty much worthless.
@1dxf Everything that you said was impossible is entirely possible. We've got a hardlines supervisor running mattresses, tools, lawn and garden, fitness AND appliances all by herself and it's been that way for years. No other manager or lead worked under her. The softlines supervisor single handedly runs softlines. It's been that way for at least two years.
For the stores that have jewelry, the coordinator's job will probably be taken over by the softlines manager. And for footwear, store support is supposed to be responsible for that, including the lead. That was all a part of simple store which all stores switched to way back in February. So if the store support lead goes away, the softlines manager will just take that over, and they've been responsible for footwear before simple store so it would be nothing new.
If these “layoffs” of all leads are coming how come there are stores that opened requisitions on the internal gateway (careers website) today?
Why would HR put openings up if they are going to be cut in basically 2 days..
When the last IBO happened SGMs and Recruiters were not allowed to open any reqs
Wouldn’t there be a meeting for the SGMs if a cut this big were coming because there hasn’t been one.
Because if it is like y’all say my store would be down to 4 managers. You can’t run a store like that. And only 3 would be salaried. I think they might cut but not across the board like y’all said.
FJ Coordinator- is a low pay position created to keep a managers presence in a high inventory dept. most stores have 2 million and up in inventory in FJ. Average pay 10.00 to 13.00
(it won’t be cut )...
Softlines Lead- low pay as well 10 dollar start pay 16-18 max pay varies by store.
FTW Store support- you can’t have the SST/OPS Zone supervisor run what used to be 3 separate depts by himself. Being hourly ASM I doubt that’s feasable.
HA/ Hardlines Sales Lead- how can a ASM/ Supervisor Run the most important depts in the store by them self. That is DEFINATLEY NOT FEASABLE. that’s HA - Mattresses- Electronics- Tools- Lawn And Garden- Fitness- Sporting Goods- Vacuums...
People still working for sears like myself the best thing if your loyal to the company’s and still have hope is to go with the flow.. In this company good people usually they will find a place for you. Good will Come just Don’t panic.
This whole July 5th Layoff is Fake News.
Also to add to my last post cutting costs at the cost of also cutting revenue is worth it sometimes. Especially if you’re already at a massive net loss as a company like sears is. If your company expenses massively outweigh your company revenue then you’d lose less money by cutting costs even if it causes you to also gain less money because of those cuts.
Like I said Jason there are probably people more deserving to be cut but realistically you you wouldn’t completely eliminate the store manager position from a company. If anything you’d replace the poorly performing ones If anyone cared enough to look into it.
Besides, eliminating a store manager is essentially done by eliminating the entire store. Eliminate a district manager is done by chopping up the districts they manage and combining multiple districts into one and so on.
@TYinkEi-1byk You say it would save the store millions than why not get rid of SM instead? That would save much more millions. Just because you cut positions it saves you money, but in the long run it becomes more of a mess in the whole store.
Ever since SST came into play along getting rid of ASM's our sales have pummeled big so the suppose cutting to save money actually comes at a big loss. Along that sales keep going down and the store looks crappier than ever.
I just don't get why they don't get rid of store managers mine doesnt do anything and makes the most. He makes up for probably all the leads/coordinators (which thats like 4 in total) so they rather eliminate 4 workers position to still have our useless SM. No wonder we aint going to last much longer.
It is pretty sad to have to worry about your job over vacation or having to worry about it period. But, wouldn't you want to know beforehand or would you rather be hit in the face with the news when you walk in to work? It is against the rules to leak information and it could get someone in a lot of trouble but they are putting their neck out for you. I think of it as a messenger. They know something or they find it out and they are letting the affected people know what is going on so that the people who are going to be affected are ready for what is to come, the sooner they look for a new job or take the next step the better. They could just sit back and let what will happen, happen and not tell anyone but that just isn't right. You do right unto others and they will do right by you. But regardless of whether someone leaks information or not if you work for this company in any capacity things like this are to be expected at this point and it shouldn't be a surprise to you. At this point all signs are pointing here -------> "you should not be working for this company if you need this job for your sole source of income or you don't have anything to fall back on, like your savings or another job opportunity." They don't tell you this at the interview or at store meetings, but it is there for you to see. I knew this going in and am prepared for the worst case scenario, if I was laid off tomorrow it wouldn't be anything but a minor blip inconvenience to me since I am a land lady with a couple of houses I rent out and I'm retired. It would be "fun while it lasted", and I enjoyed all the wonderful people I worked with. This job is for my "fun money" and to buy stuff for my three rental houses cheaply with the points when I need something . It used to be discount card until they took that away but the discount points works for me and saved me thousands, so I'm happy and Sears is happy and it keeps the world turning. But, the signs are not looking good for people who want a career or make the job out to be s a long term. The signs are saying---> "proceed with caution". Other people know what is going on but some other people are really surprised when their store or department closes or they are called into their manager's office because their job was eliminated. It's sad and all but these are alarm bells. They are ringing. Please, for your sake. I think they have been ringing for ten years. The signs are here ---->"proceed at your own risk." . The store grade jobs are still good for retiree seniors ( like me), college age students and maybe for a wife to supplement her husband's income. That is it from what I can think of. It suits me perfectly, . I don't know how that would fit in to corporate since those are higher grade jobs but maybe if you absolutely cannot find a job, you will just have to take what you can get and try to get out a.s.a.p.. Again, if you truly need your job, you should be looking to get out. If you're like me, you can stay, and let what will happen, happen and when the ride is over, move on to the next thing or kick back and relax and enjoy all the fruits of your labor. -- God bless, Coleen.
I believe the issue is that associates like that are more expensive. If not because of higher salaries then because of benefits. It doesn’t really go with shc’s current goal which is to survive as long as possible until someone can come up with a plan to save it (and to get as much value out of what’s left as possible).
Getting rid of a single type of lead position probably saves millions across the entirety of shc. If not then getting rid of several types definitely would.
Doing the math if every remaining store cut one lead and that lead was full time then sears would save 9-12million in salary payout alone. So shc is potentially saving 10s of millions per type of lead removed if that type gets removed from every remaining store.
Which makes sense looking at the big picture, which is shc purely trying to scrap by and survive another year as a whole even if it means the stores are even less functional. It’s not really fair to the people who get sacrificed since there are surly more deserving people but that’s just the reality of working for a struggling business.
@1ove - "Whoever finds information and leaks it should be punished." Why, because a delicate snowflake like yourself can't handle the truth? Grow up!
It is pretty sad that you have employees on vacation and other employees call you because rumor has we will be losing our jobs when we return to work on July 9th so of course who can enjoy vacation worried about losing job. Whoever finds information and leaks it should be punished. And whatever positions are eliminated are probably important ones. But with no payroll and no help already in stores we need to keep all key associates that are trained and do a good job. One step in positive is finally getting rid of assessments so no reason to meet requirements needed as in our state we only pay 7.25 an hour. I can only hope that my job is one that is still there when I return as I have 25 years with the company which could be thrown right out the window so much for longevity and dedication.
@1tjw - I haven't heard anything about softlines ASM positions. I've only heard that the affected positions are leads, coordinators and store APP.
What about siftline ASM? Any news on that position?
@1kkh and @tkq - Yes, all leads and coordinator positions will be eliminated, including fine jewelry coordinator and store support lead.
@acv - Yes, there will be layoffs for AP as well.. Risk level evaluation per-store will play a big part in that decision as well as store-specific EBITDA and sales over a five-year time period. DLPM/ZMAPs and AP at the region level will be involved in making those decisions. I do know that this applies to Kmart as well. Despite what someone posted here recently, AP is not going away completely, just fewer stores will have AP. Some stores have actually been upgraded in risk - however, it is my understanding that a risk upgrade does not mean a store will be allocated AP. I am not totally familiar with AP operations but I do know that upgraded stores typically implement process control and more frequent check-ins and consultations with the DLPM.
Store support lead too?
It's heartbreaking to read these posts by people desperate for information about their future. Good luck to you all, and believe that the future is brighter once you're outside of Sears.
What about the FJ Coordinator?
Any details on AP layoffs? Who will be affected??
Good bye jewelry coordinator. Now she can be support like everyone else. Her high and mighty attitude had gone on for too long.
@luo - Based on the three sources who have been credible in the past, yes. My sources along with myself are all based in Hoffman.
@kue - Yes, if you mean the softlines lead and not the zone supervisor. Keep in mind that the softlines zone supervisor position will not be eliminated, only the lead(s) working below them for the stores designated to have the softlines lead position.
So the ssl softlines lead positions that they just created are being eliminated?
Will the layoff be July 5th be nation wide. I
Is this a store by store like last time or will ALL leads and coordinators be cut?
July 5
When?